We all want to make a bit of money with our DJing. After all, we’ve bought the gear, spent the hours collecting music and carried heavy speakers up the stairs. So what’s the difference between those DJs who just sort of tinker along and those who get the gig? Read on for a few tips on how to stand out - for real.
Select modern tunes for your set
DJs who play at parties, weddings, corporate gigs find the newest music from other parts of the world. Stuff that not everyone knows, sourced by you personally via crate-digging or a DJ pool. Your selection and taste should make people crowd the booth to ask for the track ID, or instantly whip out Shazam (but they won’t find it, no no no!) Also, if there’s a radio edit of the tune, play that instead of the full version. Mainstream DJs keep it punchy.
Go beyond ping-pong mixing
As a mainstream DJ, it’s not OK to just crossfade between back-to-back records. You need to do more. Mainstream DJs know how to get the most out of functions like looping, effects, acapella and stem mixing. There are a ton of tutorials and DJ courses online that will help you bring your technique up a level. Style counts for quite a lot in the DJ world. Go beyond the familiar and blow your guests away.
Smile and look at the audience
Mainstream DJs are pretty much the definition of cool. But not too cool to connect with their fans. Search any live DJ concert and watch how they behave. It’s not all just hype and crowdwork. They’re generally really happy to be there. DJing is probably still their passion, and the success is just the icing on the cake. You only get so far by faking it. But even if you’re forced to fake it for any reason, the crowd still always wants to know you’re happy to be there. They pay to know you are. Make them believe.
Sounds obvious, but if you want to make money playing records, you also have to play the game. You win the game when you know the rules. You know the rules by doing the gigs and paying attention to what works. Learn how to DJ properly with an online DJ course taught by professionals, and keep playing the game.